Texas

The North American Hair Sheep Symposium, Oct. 6 to 8 in San Angelo, will offer new and seasoned producers the most current information about this budding industry.

The event will be held in San Angelo's Spur Arena, adjacent to the coliseum and fairgrounds.

The symposium, which targets the first-time hair sheep producer, is sponsored by Texas Cooperative Extension, the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and the Texas Hair Sheep Association.

Dr. Frank Craddock, Extension sheep and goat specialist at San Angelo and the symposium's coordinator, said interest in hair sheep production is strong in many parts of the U.S.

"Hair sheep are rapidly gaining in popularity because they offer many advantages to the small-acreage landowner and first-time sheep producer," Craddock said. "They are very easy to care for, are more resistant to parasites than traditional sheep, and do not have to be shorn. Thus, they require much less labor than traditional breeds."

Hair sheep also produce very hardy lambs and experience very low death rates. The lambs also gain well in the feedlot, he said.

"This symposium is tailored to producers who have never owned sheep and for those who have stopped raising traditional breeds due to the headaches involved," Craddock said. "Hair sheep are truly the 'pain-free' livestock enterprise today's busy part-time rancher is looking for."

The first day will provide a history of the better-known hair sheep breeds currently in the U.S. The second day will cover marketing issues, general production and budgets. The final day will deal with breed and breeding stock selection.

A Texas Hair Sheep Association-sponsored sheep sale will follow the symposium on Oct. 8.

Activities on Oct. 6 will start at 1 p.m. Topics and speakers will include:

--History of Hair Sheep, Dr. Maurice Shelton, Experiment Station geneticist, emeritus, San Angelo;

--Potential of Hair Sheep in the United States, Dr. Dave Notter, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.;

--Hair Sheep Production in Canada, Shannon Richardson, Airdrie, Alberta, Canada;

--Hair Sheep Production in Mexico, Juan Salas; and

--Integration of Hair Sheep into Existing Operations, Dr. Bob Steger, consultant, Mertzon.

The topics and speakers on Oct. 7 will be:

--Buying and Selling Hair Sheep: How Do They Fit the Ethnic Market, Donald Jordan, Hamilton Commission Company, and Susan Schoenian, University of Maryland Cooperative Extension, Keedysville, Md.;

--How Do They Grow? Are They Good To Eat?, Dr. Kreg Leymaster, U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, Neb., and Dr. Sam Jackson, Texas Tech University;

--What Do We Do With the Hides? Managing the Hair Sheep Leather Supply Chain to Benefit Producers, Dr. Dennis Shelly, Texas Tech;

--Can You Make Money Raising Hair Sheep?, Dr. Jason Johnson, Extension economist, San Angelo;

--Are They Healthy, Hardy and Easy to Raise?, Dr. G.F. Kennedy, Pipestone Vet Clinic, Pipestone, Minn.;

--What and How Much Do They Eat?, Dr. Rick Machen, Extension livestock specialist, Uvalde; and

--Do They Have A Lot of Babies All Year Long?, Dr. Stephan Wildeus, Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va.

Oct. 8 topics and speakers will include:

--What Do We Look for in Selecting and Evaluating Hair Sheep?, Dr. Charles Parker, Columbus, Ohio;

--Hair Sheep Research Across the Unites States, Dr. Dan Waldron, Experiment Station geneticist, San Angelo, and

--What About the Various Breeds?, with individual presentations on Katahdin, Jim Morgan, Fayettville, Ark; Dorper, Philip Glass, Water Valley and Warren Cude, Fort Stockton; St. Croix, Dr. Thomas Bunch, Utah State University; Barbados Blackbelly, Carol Elkins, Pueblo, Colo.; Royal White, Bill Hoag, Hermleigh; and Crossbreeds, Art Roane, Ozona.

Commercial exhibit booth space is available at $200 per booth. Symposium sponsorships are $100.

Registration deadline is Sept. 16. Individual registration before that date is $150, plus $50 for each additional adult family member. Children 18 and younger can attend free. The fee covers a CD-ROM proceedings and two meals. Individual registration after Sept. 16 is $250 and $100 for each additional family member.

A spouses' tour is planned for those not attending the symposium.

Register online at www.peopleware.net/1542b or contact Joani Groce at 979-845-7694, j-groce@tamu.edu.

For more information, contact Craddock at 325-653-4576, or b-craddock@tamu.edu.